


Where Some Back Down

by Cendari



Category: Hit the Floor (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Sex, Barebacking, Episode Fix-it, Eventual Smut, Fix-It, Fluff and Smut, Friendship, Getting Back Together, Jude Kinkade & Lionel Davenport - Freeform, Light Bondage, M/M, Post-Break Up, Romance, Secrets, Under-negotiated Kink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2019-07-12 12:23:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15995162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cendari/pseuds/Cendari
Summary: Jude does his best to smile through Kyle and Beau’s wedding ceremony. He’s honestly happy for them, but it’s difficult just after having to watch yet another person that he cares for walk away from him. He can see the quiet joy in Kyle’s eyes and tries not to think about the dream house, husband, and domestic bliss that he let slip through his fingers.





	1. Salvation

**Author's Note:**

> Confession time: I have never seen a full episode of Hit The Floor. I stumbled across #Zude gifs on someone’s Tumblr and was so charmed and intrigued that I had to know more, which I did by watching their ship scenes on repeat. I made the rookie mistake of getting completely invested in a ship before I found out that one half of their pairing would not be returning for Season 4.  
> I then made it my mission to find out how they were planning to write Zero’s character out, and promptly got pissed off. I caught the last few minutes of S4E07 and quickly upgraded to infuriated, and then (because I’m a glutton for punishment) I tuned in for a bit of S4E08 and found my rage upgraded again to incandescent. (Seriously, they’re claiming that Jude is so heartbroken and mistrustful that he can’t let Noah all the way in, and yet he can still ignore being told things like “I can’t love you” and “I’ve been using you”? What the fuck?!)  
> So, I decided to fix it.  
> Behold.
> 
> Warnings/Disclaimers: I own nothing. Any and all mistakes are mine. I know less than nothing about professional sports. This is my first-ever attempt at writing for a slash-pairing (please be gentle). The League Constitution that Zero references can be found [here](http://prawfsblawg.blogs.com/files/221035054-nba-constitution-and-by-laws.pdf).  
> This was heavily influenced by Spikedluv’s works (especially the [“in this together”](https://archiveofourown.org/series/660647) series) and sanctuary_for_all’s [“The King and King of L.A.”](https://archiveofourown.org/series/546685) series. Title is from [“In A World Like This”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynBplqio1R4) by Backstreet Boys.  
> Trigger warnings can be found in the end notes

Jude does his best to smile through Kyle and Beau’s wedding ceremony. He’s honestly happy for them, but it’s difficult just after having to watch yet another person that he cares for walk away from him. He can see the quiet joy in Kyle’s eyes and tries not to think about the dream house, husband, and domestic bliss that he let slip through his fingers.

He’s glad that Noah was honest and didn’t beat around the bush and did his best to spare Jude’s feelings (although “I just can’t love you” really is fucking harsh, but he’s not thinking about it - he’s not), and he now has a much better understanding of how Gideon must have felt when Jude kept prying the details of his childhood out of him one at a time. It feels awful when you’re honestly, seriously trying to open up to this beautiful person who (for bizarre reasons known only to them) wants to know everything about you, only to constantly be told that it’s still not enough, that you still keep too many secrets, that you hold your cards too close to your vest - even if you’re trying to protect that person from those parts of you. 

Even if it’s to protect yourself from being too badly hurt when they finally realize how truly damaged you are and leave, just like everyone else you’ve ever loved.

Jude gets it now - he really, truly does - and while he doesn’t regret pushing Gideon to open up and try to help him heal from the wounds left by his childhood in foster (un)care, he is so, so sorry if he ever made Gideon feel like Jude does right now.

Because it fucking sucks. 

A lot.

And he definitely owes Gideon a heartfelt apology.

But he’s  _ not _ thinking about it.

Really.

Jude congratulates the happy bride and groom in the parking lot, offers the use of The Playground for anyone that wants to continue the party, and climbs into his car. As soon as he’s on the road, ostensibly following the caravan of cars back to the arena, Jude is on the phone to charter a private jet. His next call is to the Playground’s manager to warn her of the wedding party’s impending arrival and to instruct that the first round of drinks and a bottle of top-shelf champagne for the bride and groom are to be charged to his tab. He peels off at the next intersection and pulls into the private terminal at Van Nuys Airport a little while later.

Seven hours after he left the wedding party, Jude’s plane lands on a private airstrip near Boston. The sky is only just starting to brighten with the coming dawn, but a sleek Jaguar sedan is waiting for him. He steers the car to a quiet residential street of brownstones in Cambridge and finds a spot to park. Quick steps take him up the stairs of the one he’s looking for, one of the keys on his keyring unlocks the front door, and then he’s inside and taking a deep breath. The numbing sense of emotional detachment that he’d pulled over himself like a cloak starts to crack.

His next exhale is a little shaky, and the one that follows it is even more so, and Jude can feel his eyes start to prickle uncomfortably. He takes his shoes off, tucking them under the shoe rack in the coat closet, and takes the stairs two at time, the corner of his mouth quirking up with amusement when his sock-clad feet slide on the hardwood flooring of the upper level.

An inquisitive chirrup from near his feet nearly gives Jude a heart attack before he remembers being told about the house’s newest resident and bends to let Lucifer sniff his hand before the pitch-black cat decides to allow Jude to give her a quick scratch between the ears. A rumbling purr erupts from the feline when Lucifer accepts the offering as her due and rubs up against Jude’s shins.

The doorway on the right opens to reveal the house’s master suite and Jude can feel his heart swell as he considers the bed’s dark-haired, scruffy occupant. One side of the king-sized bed is empty but Lucifer is quick to remedy that when she jumps up and snuggles in close to her master. Jude strips down to his undershirt and briefs and slides under the bed covers, trying desperately to not wake the other person who, now that Jude is closer, is actually looking more shaggy than scruffy.

A sleepy murmur is all the warning Jude gets before an arm wraps around him and drags him closer to the other’s body. Lucifer complains when she nearly gets squished between them but relinquishes the spot in favour of her master’s other side. Jude feels the prickle of too-long facial hair against his skin a split second before a soft, barely-there kiss is pressed to his cheekbone.

Physically and emotionally exhausted, but safely shrouded and loved, Jude finally lets himself sleep.

* * *

Jude swims back to consciousness to find himself being warmly regarded by a pair of much-beloved blue-green eyes. “Hi,” he says. His eyes blur with unshed tears, but he is so ridiculously happy to be here right now that it’s almost entirely because of joy.

“Hi,” Gideon replies. His soft smile widens until his dimples are on full display and Jude has been missing him with every breath in his body and can’t stop himself from stretching up for a lengthy, mostly chaste kiss.

See, Jude may not have been entirely truthful with Lionel (or anybody else that was dumb enough to ask) about their split. 

For awhile after Derek and Ahsha left Zero and Jude were on Cloud Nine and planning to spend the rest of their lives together. Zero was blossoming as team captain and well on the way to winning another championship; Jude was growing into the role of Executive Vice President of Business Operations, cultivating his network of connections for if and when Jelena screwed the pooch; their house was almost ready for them to move in; they’d started seeing a therapist - individually and together - to try to resolve their abandonment issues and learn how to communicate better, since it’s not like either of them had grown up with good examples of healthy adult relationships; and had secretly bought rings and were gleefully plotting a public proposal. 

Everything they had worked so hard for was falling perfectly into place.

And then the other shoe dropped: a mere week before they were supposed to move into their new house, Jelena decided to take issue with something Zero had said during a post-game interview and tried to trade him again (in spite of the fact that his contract had been quietly amended to include no-trade and sin-forgiveness clauses after her first attempt). Roughly ten seconds later Oscar started his latest campaign to wriggle his way back into the CEO’s chair by trying to use Zero to get to Jude.

Despite his ability to think ten steps ahead of everyone else, and for all the help and support Zero provided, the stress of fighting a war on multiple fronts brought Jude almost to the breaking point. After soothing Jude through anxiety attacks three nights in a row, Zero had come to a few hard truths.

The biggest one was that, regardless of the fact that Zero was on track to lead the team to a second championship ring, she would never (ever) give up on trying to get rid of him. Her grudge had mutated into a full-blown personal vendetta and she would stop at nothing to ensure he was completely miserable, no matter how badly it would hurt the team and burn her bridges with her EVP. Knowing her, she would wait until they returned from their honeymoon to present Zero with a choice between spending the rest of his career on the bench or agreeing to be transferred to some G-league team in the boonies (like Sioux Falls in South fucking Dakota).

Jude and Zero survived both plots by the skin of their teeth and when all was said and done, Jelena was back on the warpath, Oscar was back to licking his wounds in private, Zero had pulled their exit strategy out of mothballs, and Jude had lost 15 pounds and gained an anxiety disorder and a prescription for Valium.

By the time everything settled down again, the seeds had been planted in Zero’s mind. Their peace was short-lived and it was only a few short months before the next attempt, after which Zero was sure that he couldn’t be used as a pawn against Jude if he wasn’t in the picture any more.

The fights that followed that declaration were  _ epic _ (and so was the angry sex that usually followed, so it hadn’t been all bad), and they’d wound up having near-daily sessions with their therapist. Zero had been ready to cut their losses and make use of the updated exit strategy but Jude - for all his feelings of hurt and betrayal at Lionel going behind his back to get Oscar out of prison and then not doing a better job of hiding all the evidence of his wrongdoings - had still wanted to stay to protect Lionel from Oscar and the Devils from Jelena’s machinations.

They could have worked through it - they  _ would have _ worked through it and come out stronger for it - if Zero hadn’t been injured.

All things considered, it could have been a lot worse: he’d landed badly after a slam-dunk and put a handful of microtears in his ACL. A couple weeks of rest, a few more weeks of physical therapy, and several months with a supportive brace and he’d be back in better shape than ever.

Zero couldn’t pin what happened next to any one cause or person, even though it had Jelena’s fingerprints all over it, but all of his endorsements and sponsors magically disappeared with his agent suspiciously clueless, quickly followed by Pete, who was visibly reluctant, asking Zero to step down as team captain (for the morale of the team of course. Can’t have the team captain on the injured list…).

Jude and Zero had finally sat down with their therapist for a marathon session where they aired all their grievances and hammered out a plan: Zero would step back out of the picture, which would hopefully earn Jude sympathy and some peace from Jelena, and also give him the opportunity to tie Oscar in so many knots he’d never get free.

The biggest issue they had with their plan was that, for it to work, they’d have to break up and Zero would have to disappear, which meant getting as far away from L.A. as physically possible.

They’d called a press conference to announce the date of his return to playing and instead Zero had informed the world that he was retiring from professional sports effective immediately.

Jelena had been so happy to finally be rid of him that she didn’t even penalize him (much) for breaking his contract.

Having grown up with nothing and determined to never let it happen again, Zero had invested and saved the bulk of his income. He liquidated a portion and moved it offshore to help finance his new start, and gave the rest to Jude in hopes of being able to buy Jelena and Oscar out sometime soon.

Jude couldn’t bear to live in their house without Zero and wouldn’t dream of selling it when they still hoped to grow old and gray in it together, so they’d hired a property management company to rent it out. Zero sold his condo and car, and auctioned off most of his memorabilia with the proceeds going to charity (his championship rings went into a deep dark corner of Jude’s closet). As a final step in his disappearing act, Zero dyed his hair back to its natural dark brown shade and shaved all his facial hair off.

Jude never told Zero about the panic attack he’d had after seeing Zero off at the airport.

For all their bravado, the first few months of their separation were nothing short of completely miserable. Jude discovered that he had lost the ability to sleep without a muscled furnace snuggled close and he spent a lot of nights on the couch after tossing and turning on a bed that was suddenly too big and too empty. Calling Zero to listen to him breathe from the dubious comfort of his own too lonely bed only helped so much (which, to be honest, wasn’t a whole lot). 

Jude had another panic attack the night he realized that his bedding and clothing no longer smelled like Zero.

With no basketball and no Jude to fill his days (and nights), Zero found himself at loose ends for the first time ever. He took the opportunity to try to reconnect with his sister; after their first meeting he called Jude to share his joy at being given a second chance (Jude cried himself to sleep that night, cursing his choices and wishing he had been there). 

Given his proximity to the school, and his desire to return to Jude’s side as an equally contributing half of their power couple, Zero enrolled in the MBA Program at Harvard, and spent the rest of his free time volunteering with a few underprivileged youth basketball programs. 

Now, more than a year after separating, Jude is still stupidly in love with Zero. He wasn’t lying when he admitted to Lionel how much he still missed Zero - just a little drunk, and a lot stressed out, touch-starved, and lonely. He’s not entirely sure how he managed to delude himself into thinking that starting something with Noah would be a good idea when he was so close to getting everything he’d been working towards for so long. The only answer he’s managed to come up with is that he was tired of missing Zero with every breath, and desperate for the high of endorphins that come with good sex. 

(Zero will never ever tell Jude about the handful of holes he’d punched into the walls after that phone confession.)

Zero is giving Jude his indulgently patient look now, and Jude knows it’s only a matter of time before… “Spill it,” Zero orders.

Jude closes his eyes and sits up, breaking out of Zero’s loose hold and shuffling until he’s leaning up against the headboard. As much as he would love to have this conversation face-to-face, he can’t bring himself to look directly at Zero right now. He takes a deep breath and spills his proverbial guts.

He tells Zero everything - everything he’d missed while on the other side of the country, everything Jude had previously omitted from their conversations, all the stress and drama that idiot rookie Pax brought with him; Derek Roman’s return and his inability to keep his dick in his pants around the Devil Girls; Eve Vincent’s manipulations and threats; the commissioner’s threats; Noah - everything. He talks until his voice is raspy, his mouth is dry, and the sun is high in the sky.

At some point Zero sits up and entwines his fingers with Jude’s, offering his strength to help Jude get through his confession. When Jude gets to his final conversation with Noah last night, he has to use his grip on Zero’s hand to keep him from leaving to “go kick his ass, Jude, what the fuck? He was supposed to look after you and make you happy, the stupid fucking asshole, and now he’s going to die.” The display of jealous temper is somehow exactly what Jude needs to hear right now and he bursts into laughter that quickly turn into sobs.

Zero wraps Jude up in a tight hug but doesn’t say a word; it takes a while, but Jude eventually cries himself out and is left feeling drained but calmer. He’s been carrying so much on his shoulders these last few months, and he’s so, so tired of it all. He’ll go back to being strong soon enough, but right now he’s going to let himself be weak and comforted by the person he loves most in the entire world.

Zero sighs, ruffling Jude’s hair with the force of his exhale. “So that’s why you didn’t ask me to go back after Jelena skipped town,” he says. A lot of things that had baffled him over the past few months are becoming clear now. All this time he’s been thinking that Jude’s radio silence was him trying to spare Zero’s feelings about Jude’s relationship with Noah. Instead he’s been trying to protect Zero by keeping him out of the line of fire of everything else going wrong inside the Devils.

“I’m sorry,” Jude whispers into Zero’s neck. Once he starts saying it he can’t seem to stop, repeating the phrase like a mantra until he’s well on his way back to hysteria.

Zero props his chin on Jude’s crown and gives him a squeeze. “What are you sorry for?”

“For not following the plan; for not calling; for Noah; for not choosing you; for staying behind; take your pick.” Jude is so done with feeling sad and guilty all the time.

“You’re here, aren’t you? Jude, I never blamed you for not wanting to leave. Was I disappointed? Of course I was. But leaving would have been giving up and I doubt you’ve ever given up on anything a day in your life. And, as much as I hate it, you’ve been choosing me every day by trying to protect me from all the crap that’s been going on.”

Jude raises his head and the smile that spreads across his face is like watching the sun rise. He leans in for another kiss, which Zero is happy to oblige with, but Jude rears back after a few seconds with a grimace and threads his fingers through Zero’s shaggy beard to gently tug on it. “Okay, I love you, I do, but this thing has got to go,” he says.

Challenge accepted. 

Quick as a snake, Zero is rubbing his chin into Jude’s face, neck, and clavicles - anywhere he can find bare skin - while Jude squawks and squirms, trying desperately to escape. Zero only relents when he starts to see Jude’s skin start to turn red from the beard burn. “You sure about that?” he asks with a teasing grin.

Jude takes advantage of Zero relaxing and takes his opportunity to get away, scuttling to the foot of the bed. “Yes! You’re not touching me again until you shave that thing off!”

“But it’s part of my disguise and I missed you,” Zero whines, watching with amusement as Jude tries not to scratch at the spreading rash.

“Hell no, you’re not getting any sex until that dead animal on your face is gone,” Jude declares and crosses his arms.

Oh, well in that case… Zero leaves the bed and saunters towards his ensuite bathroom. “Wanna help me?”

Jude dimples back at him and follows close behind. “Thought you’d never ask.”

* * *

Much (much) later, Zero’s hair and beard have been successfully trimmed and tamed and they meet in the kitchen where they work together to prepare breakfast. Jude finds that watching Zero converse with Lucifer while he tops up her food and water dishes is beyond adorable.

They sit at the kitchen island to eat and Zero does his best to hide his distress at seeing how loose Jude’s borrowed clothing is; two years ago Zero’s clothes would have fit him almost perfectly and it’s now even more apparent that Jude never regained all the weight he lost before they split up (and has probably lost even more since then). After they’ve eaten and tidied up, Jude runs out to the car to get his briefcase and joins Zero in the den to convene the war council.

From a well-hidden pocket in the briefcase, Jude pulls out 3 distinct piles of paper, which he’s been carrying around since the day after Jelena sold him the team. “There are three options here,” he explains, lifting up the topmost sheaf of paper and handing it to Zero to look over. “The first is to become one of the team’s owners.” Zero makes a considering face and opts to set it aside for now.

The next packet is an employment contract, “The second option is for you to come back as my EVP.” Zero can’t hide his grimace. While he’s liked and even enjoyed most of his MBA courses, riding a desk full-time would bore him to tears and drive him insane. Jude smirks and puts it back in the briefcase to shred later on; he knows it was a long shot.

This time he hesitates. “The last option... Is for you to dust off your jersey.”

_ This _ is what Zero’s been waiting for. He takes the contract and reads through it carefully. He trusts Jude implicitly and knows that Jude would never dream of trying to screw him over, and he knows he’s going to sign it regardless, but he’s still curious.

To be fair, it’s far from the best offer he’s ever received. (He actually lost count of the number of teams that offered to buy out his contract in between the day he announced his retirement and the day he actually disappeared; at the time he’d joked that a lot of owners must have wanted to stick it to Jelena, but he’d been ridiculously flattered.) 

When he takes the team’s current uncertain future into account, and the fact that there’s less than a month left in the season, he can understand why he’s only being offered $500,000 to finish out the season. Assuming all goes well, he’ll be bumped up to $40 million for five years, with ironclad no-trade and sin-forgiveness clauses and miniscule early termination penalties.

He looks up and sees Jude all but wringing his hands with anxiety. As if there was ever any doubt. “Got a pen in there?”

Jude waits impatiently while Zero carefully initials each page and signs the last page with a flourish before Jude tucks the paperwork safely away in his briefcase and straddles Zero’s lap. “I love you,” he murmurs, peppering overjoyed kisses all over Zero’s face, “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

It’s hard to kiss someone when you’re grinning like an idiot but Zero manages it quite well, if he does say so himself.

After they’ve cleaned up and put their clothes back on, Zero asks Jude to tell him everything about the ultimatum Eve Vincent and the league commissioner have given them. When Jude explains that they have to win the championships or be disenfranchised, Zero’s face creases with perplexment. “They can’t do that,” he protests. “The commissioner doesn’t have that kind of power. How the hell would they explain it to the rest of the League? What did Legal say about it?”

Jude avoids meeting his eyes when he admits that “They don’t know about it.”

In a burst of frustration, Zero finds an old newspaper, rolls it up into a tube, and thwaps Jude over the head and shoulders with it a few times. “They don’t know? Why don’t they know about it, Jude?!” He keeps whacking Jude with the paper cylinder until the other man wrestles it away.

“I don’t know, all right! I don’t know.”

“Did you not remember that little rule from the League Constitution that says that the Commissioner only has the power to ban individual people, and teams can’t be kicked out without a three-quarters vote from the Board of Governors? And they can’t vote without having a hearing in front of the full Board?” Zero grins when Jude blinks uncomprehendingly at him.

“What? How’d you know that?”

“And that’s why you’re supposed to sic Legal on them.”

“Oh, my God. I am such an idiot. Where the hell’s my phone?” Several emails and text messages later, sent to the Devils’ legal team, to German to warn him to dust off some of the old plays, and to Lionel to reassure her that he is still among the living, Jude can start to breathe again. Noah has not messaged him at all.

When Jude resurfaces it’s to find Zero looking good enough to eat, dressed in well-worn, acid-washed jeans and a Boston Celtics t-shirt, and grinning at him from the doorway. “Coming? I’ve got shit to do before we get on that plane tomorrow.”

Jude can’t stop the beaming smile that takes over his face if he tried. He packs up all the paperwork in his briefcase and stops in front of Zero to steal a kiss and a quick grope before heading upstairs to change clothes. He pulls out a similar outfit from Zero’s closet and grimaces when the belt has to be fastened three notches tighter than he used to, and decides to leave the shirt untucked to try to disguise it. Jude grabs a Red Sox baseball cap and a pair of dark wraparound sunglasses from the closet and hustles downstairs to meet Zero at the front door.

Their first stop is the Registrar’s Office at HBS to discuss Zero’s options for completing his MBA in California. It’s not great news: Harvard’s MBA Program does not offer a part-time or distance learning option. The advisor is sympathetic when Zero explains that he is moving for his job, but says that his only options are to apply for a leave of absence or withdraw from the program entirely.

With Jude’s quiet support, Zero chooses the leave of absence. To be honest, he wouldn’t be completely broken-hearted to withdraw - he really only enrolled to keep himself busy - but he also hates leaving something unfinished. Once things with the team settle down he’ll start quietly putting out feelers for other options closer to home.

“I’m proud of you, you know,” Jude says as they leave the registrar’s office.

“Yeah?” Zero responds with that bashful smile that never fails to make Jude’s heart melt.

“Yeah,” Jude answers sincerely. 

Zero waits until they walk out of the building and then he tugs Jude into his arms, twists, and dips him like they’re in the middle of a freaking movie musical. Jude’s yelp of surprised laughter is cut off when Zero’s lips meet his in a searing kiss.

It might be a throwback to their days of sneaking around, but even after coming out they weren’t the kind of lovers that had to be constantly hanging off of each other. At first Jude was a little uncertain about it, but then he took a closer look at the other couples in his circle of acquaintances and eventually realized that the people that were attached at the hip and always in each others’ pockets in public were the most insecure in their relationships, and PDAs were a (not-so-) subtle way to mark their territory.

After coming out, the physical distance that Zero had kept between them when they weren’t having sex started to shrink. It was gradual, and Jude had barely noticed at the time, but it seemed like one day they were six inches apart at all times and the next day Jude had a handsy Zero-shaped octopus draped over him any time they were alone. It wasn’t until Jude read an article explaining why the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge never held hands in public that he started to comprehend what Zero was doing (whether he was conscious of it or not).

After that particular epiphany Jude gave being the one to initiate casual affection in private a try and Zero had blossomed under the positive attention to the point that Jude’s heart hurt every time he thought for too long about why that was.

Zero - professional athlete, hot-ass, pain in the ass, gorgeous, confident, cool, too smart for his own good Zero - could have his pick of anyone, has people throwing themselves at him (sometimes literally) on a daily basis, and yet for some strange reason he’d decided he wants Jude.

Just Jude. Who is always tense, kind of dorky, a little nerdy, in shape but not ripped, has anxiety and daddy issues out the wazoo, and a host of other emotional baggage.

Well, there’s no accounting for taste, after all.

That’s not to say, however, that the occasional public display isn’t nice or appreciated.

When Zero finally lets him up for air Jude discovers that his arms are wrapped tightly around Zero, his hat has been knocked askew almost to the point of falling off his head, and they’ve attracted an audience. Said audience is clapping, whistling, and cat-calling, and Zero, ever the showman, grins and takes a bow while Jude turns bright pink with embarrassment. Jude busies himself with righting the baseball cap on his head while waiting for their audience to disperse and, fortunately for his peace of mind, the crowd dissolves quickly and he takes the opportunity to pinch Zero hard.

(Zero’s incorrigible as it is, any reaction other than disapproval would only egg him on.)

“What?” Zero says innocently. Jude rolls his eyes but doesn’t say anything and heads for the parking lot. “What?”

Next, they stop at Zero’s new therapist’s office to inform them of the coming move and to give permission for his records to be forwarded to their therapist in California.

Their last stop of the day is a quiet, off-the-beaten-path bistro for an early dinner with Zero’s sister, Laura. Jude can’t help but be nervous - while they originally met over Skype, this will be their first face-to-face meeting - whereas Zero is damn near bouncing from excitement over getting to have his two favorite people in one place.

Jude’s fears turn out to be completely unfounded. Laura is basically a female version of her brother: bright, sarcastic, charming, with wealth of heartache and childhood trauma hiding behind a ready smile and survivor’s eyes. She’s thrilled to finally get to meet Jude in person and by the time the server takes their drink orders he is completely wrapped around her little finger (much like her far-too-smug-looking brother is).

Over drinks and appetizers Zero and Jude break the news that Zero is coming out of retirement and going back to Los Angeles tomorrow with Jude. Laura is visibly disappointed but bounces back quickly and spends the rest of dinner regaling Jude with Little Gideon stories and other tales of his more recent exploits.

Jude repays the favor by telling Laura all about Grown-Up Zero’s more interesting and entertaining escapades. Zero turns a little pink around the edges at times, but otherwise can’t seem to stop himself from grinning sappily at the two people he loves most in the world.

“Do you need me to check on the house while you’re gone?” Laura asks as they start gathering their belongings.

“Would you mind?” Zero checks. “The housekeeping service should still be going in every week or so to dust, but an extra set of eyes never hurts.”

“If I minded, I wouldn’t have offered,” she says bluntly. Zero wraps her up in a tight hug, trying not to think about leaving her so soon after finding her again. Jude puts a steadying hand on his back and Zero forces himself to let her go, then watches as Laura moves to hug Jude.

Of course, then he has to embrace them both because otherwise he might start getting misty-eyed at the sight of the two halves of his family joining together. Jude and Laura give token protests at the manhandling but they make no effort to escape his hold.

Zero and Jude retreat back to the brownstone, where Zero refills a demanding Lucifer’s food dish and then Jude “helps” Zero pack (Jude’s version of helping seems to involve lounging on the bed in his underwear and answering his messages while Zero packs a duffle bag with necessities).

Not that there’s a lot to pack - most of Zero’s old wardrobe got absorbed into Jude’s and is waiting for him to reclaim it, and most of his current wardrobe won’t live up to L.A. standards. One thing he’s really going to miss is being able to leave his house and go to the 24-hour corner store at 3:00 a.m. in a ratty pair of sweats and an equally worn t-shirt without appearing on TMZ later that day.

While Zero debates over what he should take back to California versus what he can leave behind, Jude is getting gradually antsier with pent-up energy. Eventually Zero gets tired of watching him fidget and throws a pair of gym shorts at his head after which Zero goes to fetch his basketball. Jude finds himself all but dragged down the street to the local park, and they kill time and energy by playing a few games of 21 against some of the neighborhood kids.

Zero can’t help but be amazed at how well he and Jude can still read each other. Jude seems to have a sixth sense that tells him exactly where Zero is going to be for any given play, and somehow always manages to get the ball to that exact location. The kids put up with being trounced for the first couple of games, and then insist they all split up and put one adult on each team of kids to make it fairer.

Zero takes blatant advantage of the opportunity to tease and distract Jude under the guise of guarding him. Of course Jude is more than happy to return the favor when it’s his turn on defense. They’re both breathing hard (and not entirely from exertion) by the time the kids have to head home to meet their curfews.

Zero nabs the ball and dribbles it a couple of times. “Another game?”

“Want to make it more interesting?” Jude asks.

“What do you propose?”

“Winner gets to top tonight.”

“You’re on,” Zero says with a grin that is best described as ‘wolfish’.

The game is fast and brutal. Zero wins 22-20 with a last lay-up but Jude made him work for each and every basket. Jude doesn’t seem that disappointed at losing, given that he’s beaming with adrenaline and endorphins, and he exits the court to flop on his back on the grass, breathing hard.

Zero drops down beside him and lets the evening breeze cool him off. “Damn, Jude, I know you said you played in school but why the hell aren’t you on a team?”

Jude lifts his leg and points at the network of faint scars on his right knee. Zero had previously noted them but hadn’t asked. “Tore the hell out of my MCL in my freshman year of college. Two surgeries and lot of PT later I can run on it and play pickup games, but it would never hold up to full-time abuse.”

Zero reaches over and entwines his fingers with Jude’s. What happened to Jude is every athlete’s worst nightmare and while he may be able to talk about it casually now, Zero knows that a lot of dreams and plans were destroyed that day. He stays silent, giving Jude a minute to compose himself and breathe, tightening his grip when Jude squeezes his hand.

When Jude’s recovered he moves, twisting up and over until he straddles Zero’s waist, planting both hands by the other man’s head, and leans down to kiss him hotly. Zero puts his hands high on Jude’s thighs and responds to the kiss with alacrity, licking into Jude’s mouth until he melts into Zero with a quiet moan. Zero shoves a hand up Jude’s shirt, stroking up over his stomach until Zero can palm one of his pecs. He’s got Jude’s shirt halfway over his head when they hear an obnoxious “Get a room!” from across the court and Jude practically levitates off of him.

Zero pouts for a second at being interrupted so rudely but rallies quickly, getting to his feet and drawing Jude up, and finds the ball before they leave the park to walk home, hand in hand. Back at the house, they settle on the living room couch side-by-side, Zero with his laptop and Jude with his phone. 

“What time do you want to leave in the morning?” Jude asks as he pulls up the contact for the charter company on his phone.

“Depends on how long you think a tiny detour will take,” Zero replies and then tilts the screen of his computer to show Jude what he’s been researching.

Jude peers at the screen with confusion at first, and then his eyes get huge with dawning understanding and he whips around to look Zero directly in the eye. “Are you sure?”

Zero’s answering smile is a bit bashful, but “Yeah, yeah I’m sure.”

Jude lunges in for a deep, toe-curling kiss but breaks it off before they can get too carried away and calls the charter company to book their trip home. He curls into Zero’s side and offers quiet answers to the online form’s questions while he talks to the booking agent.

A few minutes later, flight scheduled and form submitted, Jude puts their devices safely on the coffee table before he jumps on Zero, knocking the other man back into the couch cushions until they’re both horizontal. “I love you, Gideon,” Jude murmurs between hungry kisses. “You’re still the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Zero chortles when he answers, “Yeah, you too, stupid.” Jude rolls his eyes and then feels his gut clench with reawakened desire when Zero shows off the strength of his abdominal muscles by sitting them both upright. Zero presses his forehead to Jude’s and closes his eyes, savoring the feeling of having the love of his life so close after being separated for so long. “I love you, too, Jude.”

Jude gently grips some of Zero’s hair and uses it to tug his head back far enough to claim his lips with a sizzling, open-mouthed kiss. Zero puts one hand on Jude’s hip and gets the other under his shirt, encouraging Jude to rock against him. That only lasts for a few seconds before they’re tearing at each other’s clothes, hungry for bare skin.

Clothing is flung aside with abandon and someone’s shirt lands on Lucifer, napping on the recliner, who meows in protest. Jude freezes and glances over to where the cat is trying to free herself from the fabric prison. He looks back at Zero, who is panting under him and watching him with hot, dark eyes, and back at Lucifer before deflating. “I don’t think I can do it with the cat watching.”

There’s a moment of stunned silence and then Zero bursts out laughing. He flops over, clutching his sides, laughing until tears form in his eyes. Stung, Jude gets up, fetches his shirt and starts to head upstairs. “What?” Zero calls after him, still snickering. 

Jude gets halfway up the stairs before he hears rapid steps following him, and he pours on the speed. Jude bursts through the bedroom door and is halfway across the room when Zero tackles him to the bed. They fall in a tangle of limbs, vying for the upper hand and laughing like hyenas.

By now Zero knows all of Jude’s soft spots and he takes ruthless advantage, digging his fingertips into the softer, ticklish skin under Jude’s arms, while Jude flails and curses him out in between helpless giggles.

Lucifer appears on the bed with a questioning chirrup. She’s clearly wondering why her humans are behaving so strangely and giving them a funny look. Zero guffaws and rolls off to the side, which gives Jude the opportunity to scoop the feline up and drop her in the hallway before firmly shutting the door in her furry face.

Her outraged yowl echoes through the bedroom and Zero chortles at the sound. “Sorry, devil cat! It’s grown-up time now!” he calls through the door. There’s the sound of claws scritching down the door and then silence.

When Jude turns around he discovers that Zero has already divested himself of his remaining clothing, and is now gloriously nude and draped over the bed like an offering. Jude can’t help but take a moment to admire him - years of changing in locker rooms has stripped Zero of any sense of body-shame, and he preens under Jude’s regard.

“You know,” Jude says as he moves back towards the bed, stripping the rest of his clothes on the way, “when you told me you were going to get a pet I was a little afraid that you were going to get a dog and name it Jelena.”

Zero cackles at the thought. “I would never do that to an innocent dog,” he declares. “Even if the look on her face would be priceless. But if I had, it would be one of those miniature pinschers or a chihuahua.” 

Jude proceeds to laugh his ass off at the mental image of Zero the big-bad-baller walking one of those teeny, tiny, yapping dogs on a leash down the street. When Jude shares this, Zero joins in the hilarity. Jude drops onto the bed next to Zero and waits for their giggles to fade. When they finally stop laughing he’s left staring into the soft blue-green eyes of the love of his life. “Hey,” he murmurs, “I love you.”

Zero’s bashful but delighted grin makes an appearance. “I know.” He accepts the light punch to his shoulder for Han Solo-ing Jude in exchange for getting an arm around him to pull their bodies closer together. Jude lets himself melt into Zero’s body and brings their lips together.

* * *

Jude and Zero disembark from the chartered jet onto the tarmac at Henderson Executive Airport and walk straight to the limo that’s waiting for them. Lucifer, supremely unhappy with them, has been corralled in her carrier and left in the care of the plane’s crew.

The limo driver takes them to an office building a few blocks away from Fremont Street. Jude and Zero get out of the car and look up at the facade with their hands tightly clasped together. For all of their eagerness and determination to do this, there’s a fair amount of trepidation mixed in too and neither are immune to a case of the nerves.

“Still Team Zero?” Zero murmurs.

Jude turns his head to look Zero in the eye; he’s nervous but serene. “Absolutely. You?”

Zero leans in to steal a quick, reassuring kiss. “You bet. Let’s do this.” They each take a deep breath and step forward together.

They walk back out of the office a little under an hour later, phase one completed, and call the limo driver to pick them up. Once they’re back in the car, they ask the driver for a suggestion as to their next stop. Fortunately, not only does the driver know exactly where they should go, he also calls ahead to squeeze them into a last-minute appointment slot.

Upon arrival, the driver parks and walks in with them, where they’re met by a bubbly young woman holding a clipboard, who greets the driver warmly and introduces herself as Stacy. “This is the rush pair, I assume?” Jude and Zero introduce themselves and then she asks if they have all their paperwork. Once she’s checked it over she asks if they want to take a few minutes to freshen up.

They changed clothes on the plane for exactly this purpose and so answer in the negative. Stacy shrugs and shows them into another room, where a middle-aged man in a suit waits on the other end.

“Last chance to back out,” Jude offers quietly.

“Not a chance.”

They walk together up the center of the room and Stacy presents the new gentleman with their paperwork before he tells them to call him Martin and double-checks their names. “Any questions for me?”

Zero grins, “Let’s get this over with.”

Jude rolls his eyes but takes Zero’s hands in his anyway. “Such a romantic.” Zero shrugs and tightens his grip.

“Dearly beloved,” Martin starts, “we are gathered here today in the presence of these witnesses to join Gideon and Jude in matrimony...”

_To Be Continued..._


	2. By Your Side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I am seriously blown away by the response to this! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kudos and kind words.
> 
> Here is the finale. Trigger Warnings will be in the end notes.

_ Previously: “Dearly beloved,” Martin starts, “we are gathered here today in the presence of these witnesses to join Gideon and Jude in matrimony...” _

Blink.

“Gideon, do you take Jude to be your lawful wedded husband?”

“I do.”

“Jude, do you take Gideon to be your lawful wedded husband?”

“I do.”

Blink.

“With this ring, I thee wed.”

“With this ring, I thee wed.”

Blink.

“With the power vested in me by the state of Nevada I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may kiss your groom.”

A single, sweet kiss that blazes through Jude down to his bones. There’s a voice in the back of his head that idly remarks that they’re definitely going to be renewing their membership in the mile high club during the hop back to L.A.

The signing of the marriage license passes in a blur. Zero only lets go of his hand when forced to. Stacy assures them that the signed license will be dropped off at the Clark County Clerk’s office by this evening. They have a few pictures taken for posterity, and then it’s all over.

They’re married.

Holy shit.

Zero pays and includes a sizable tip for everybody’s silence. “I don’t want to be seeing this on TMZ in an hour,” he jokes. Zero and Jude shake hands with Martin and Stacy, and thank Dave the driver for being their witness. 

They get back in the car and head back to the airport, cuddled close and completely incapable of looking away from their left hands, and the matching rings adorning them. The rings had been stashed in Jude’s briefcase all this time - he’d been incapable of letting them out of his sight, but was also trying to convince Lionel and Jelena that he was moving on and getting over Zero. The rings themselves are simple and basic, only remarkable due to the fact that they are two-toned with gold and platinum.

Jude tilts his head to rest against Zero’s with a sigh of pure contentment. Whatever happens back in L.A., at least they got to have this.

* * *

As soon as they arrive in Van Nuys, there’s no time to waste. Their first stop is at Jude’s apartment to drop off Zero’s bags and Lucifer, and pick up Zero’s uniform. Then they head for Zero’s favorite salon to have his hair returned to its former glory.

Half an hour later, Jude is planted in one of the unused chairs, catching up on the headlines and scores on his phone while the bleach does its job on Zero’s hair. They’re killing time by idly playing footsie - the acrid stench of the bleach makes Jude sneeze when he gets too close, so he’s as far away from Zero as he can get and still be within touching distance.

Another half-hour after that and Zero has been rinsed, trimmed, and styled. His beard has suffered a similar fate but soon enough Jude is beaming when his golden sun god emerges from the stylists’ clutches. “There you are,” he says, leaning in to steal a quick kiss. “Don’t take this the wrong way, I love you in every configuration, but I’ve kind of missed the blond.”

“I haven’t missed the hassle of keeping it that way,” Zero replies ruefully as he pays for the service and the home tinting kit for his roots, “but we can discuss that later.” He pulls out the baseball cap he’d brought just for this purpose and puts it on. They haven’t come this far to lose the element of surprise now.

They detour through a drive-thru to grab a late lunch before arriving at the arena. Jude drops Zero off at the loading docks with his old key-pass, and drives around to the employees’ parking lot to use that entrance before meeting Zero near the locker room.

Jude’s relieved to see that German has followed his instructions and closed the pre-game practice to everyone that isn’t the team, coaches and medical staff. Practice has already started so Zero has the opportunity to change in peace and then he and Jude head for the court together. Jude steps out on the court first, getting the players’ attention; they’re insanely curious as to why even their on-site ISN reporter and the Devil Girls have been banned from watching them warm-up for the game and only know that it’s because of Jude’s orders.

“Sorry for all the secrecy, guys,” Jude says. “We have a new, top-secret addition to the roster.”

Zero is entertained by all the brows creased with confusion that he can see from his hiding spot and he waits another second before taking his cue, stepping out into the light. He’s ridiculously gratified to see that most of the players seem to be genuinely glad to see him, but his eyes are on Derek.

Who surprises him by stepping forward to shake his hand. “It’s good to see you,” Derek says. “Welcome back, bro.”

“It’s good to be back,” Zero responds. “This isn’t going to be a problem?”

“Nope. If I get a second chance, so do you.”

Zero grins. “Thanks.”

Jude watches silently for a few moments while Zero gets reintegrated with the team and then sidles up beside German for a quick chat. “Any problems?”

“Not from me, boss. It’ll be good to have him back.”

“Make sure everyone understands what’ll happen if they say anything about him returning before the game to anyone.”

“You got it, boss.”

“I’ll be around if anything comes up,” Jude adds and takes his leave. He has to drop Zero’s new contract off at HR (and swear them to silence), check in with Legal, and a million other things to catch up on after being MIA for a day.

Zero has a hard time believing how easy it is to work with Derek now that they’re not fighting to be top dog. Their teamwork is off the charts, even after not playing together for a year. German notices, because he’s not dumb, and decides to give them a little test: Zero and Derek against six others.

At first, Zero isn’t quite sure that he heard correctly, but when Derek struts past him with a fist-bump and a “oh, we got this,” Zero gives a mental shrug and decides to go all-out. This will either be successful beyond belief or crash and burn, and if it crashes it won’t be because he wasn’t trying.

It’s close. He and Derek are ducking, weaving, and dodging, but eventually they just get overrun by the sheer numbers of the opposing team and lose 21-17. Zero and Derek head straight for the water cooler, panting hard from exertion.

Even so, they’re pretty pleased with themselves for staving off defeat for as long as they did, and there’s a round of high-fives and fist-bumps between each other and the rest of the team. After that little display of skill and teamwork, nobody’s surprised when German announces tonight’s starting lineup, starring Derek and Zero.

For Jude, the afternoon goes by so slowly he’s tempted to check his clock to make sure it isn’t actually running backwards. Fortunately, nothing blew up or set itself on fire while he was gone yesterday, so now it’s really just a matter of avoiding Eve, Lionel and Noah until the game starts.

He’s in his office, pretending to work while he’s really admiring his wedding ring, when there’s a tap on the door. He takes a quick second to compose himself before calling out to the other person to come in.

It’s Lionel, come to check on him after being incommunicado and then noncommittal over the phone and texts. Jude uses the guise of pouring them both a drink to tug off the ring, even though it kills him a little inside to do it, and discreetly slide it into his breast pocket. He joins Lionel on the sofa and hands her a glass filled with a few fingers of scotch.

“Everything okay?” she asks, taking a sip from her glass.

“Yep,” Jude responds. “Just needed a break.”

“Hmm.” Lionel withholds judgement but also peers curiously at Jude’s collar (where he’s now certain Zero left a sizable love bite), and he resists the urge to slap his hand to his neck because that just makes you look guiltier. “You look nice and relaxed today. Had a good day yesterday?”

Jude definitely does not blush at the thought of all the athletic make-up sex he’s had with Zero over the past day, and forces his poker face to stay placid. “Yeah, it was pretty good.” He suppresses the urge to fill in the blanks on his own - the first rule of misdirection is to never give unnecessary details.

“Didn’t do anything with Noah?” She’s definitely fishing for something, but Jude is saved from answering by another knock on the door.

The Devils’ head legal counsel, Miriam, is standing behind the door, looking quite pleased with herself. Jude lets her in and she seats herself at one of the visitor chairs in front of his desk. “So, I had a very interesting chat with the Commissioner just now,” she says, and Jude sits down hard in his desk chair. “He swears that he never gave Ms. Vincent the authority to make those threats, swears he is entirely horrified by the blatant abuse of authority, and vowed to end their professional association.”

Jude breathes a sigh of relief and lets himself relax into the cushy padding of his chair. “Do you believe him?”

Miriam waffles a bit. “I believe that he didn’t set out to push you into a corner. He didn’t back down until I threatened to inform the rest of the League about their blatant abuse of the system, but I also think he just needs a bit of time to cool off about this whole thing. Apparently, he’s planning to take his wife for a long vacation but promised that he’d speak to Ms. Vincent before they left.”

“Well, that’s better than nothing,” Jude says. “Thanks for all your hard work on this, Miriam. Since today’s Sunday, why don’t you take tomorrow and Tuesday off?”

She smiles brightly and takes her leave. ‘Have a good night, Jude.”

“Thanks, you too.”

Jude glances at his watch when the door closes and stands up to fetch his jacket. “Oh, wow, it’s almost game time. I’ll see you down there?”

He doesn’t give Lionel much choice but to acquiesce and herds her out of his office. As soon as he’s alone he shoves the wedding band back on his finger, amazed at how he’d gotten used to wearing it after only a few hours and how his hand had felt naked without it. He heads down to the locker room to give the team a pregame pep talk, and then enters the court to take his seat. 

Jude can’t really see the team’s announcer, Ted, but knows exactly when Ted sees Zero’s name on the revised lineup because he stutters for a split second but recovers admirably. “And now, last but definitely not least: Devils Nation, rise up and put your hands together to welcome back the one, the only, _ZEEEE-ROOOOO_!”

The atmosphere in the arena is electrifying as Zero jogs onto the court and waves with a face-splitting grin while the fans try to scream and stomp the house down. 

Jude grins gleefully at the expressions on the faces of the Devil Girls and the Miami team and ignores Lionel’s hissed demands for an explanation, settling into his seat and getting ready to enjoy a good, long game.

There’s a lot of shit that will have to be sorted out in the morning, but for now all is right with his world. Nothing can bring his mood down tonight.

It’s… well, calling the game a smackdown would be putting it kindly. With the Devils’ addition of Zero and the subsequent confidence boost, and Zero and Derek’s frankly unreal teamwork, they beat Miami into the ground and then wipe the floor with them for good measure. By halftime the Devils are up 60-12, and the gap only widens with each successive quarter.

When the final buzzer sounds, the Miami team is looking exhausted and more than a little haunted. Every so often the Devils had let up on the beatdown, but each reprieve got shorter and shorter as the game went on. Jude can’t find the words to properly express just how proud he is of them; as of tonight’s win they’re leading the series 3-1 - one more win and they’ll have another championship to their names.

All of the players and coaches shake hands and the Devils wait on the court for the press to descend on them for post-game interviews while the Miami contingent retreat to the locker room.

Noah and his cameraman are the first to find Jude. ‘I’m here with Los Angeles Devils owner, Jude Kinkade,” Noah says into the camera. “Mr. Kinkade, how do you feel about tonight’s win?”

“I couldn’t be happier or prouder of the team,” Jude replies. “They’ve been working hard and that showed in their performance tonight.”

“And how do you feel about the surprise return of your ex, Zero?”

Jude can feel his eyes narrow at Noah and quickly fixes his ‘neutral but pleased’ expression on his face. “Zero was, and is, a highly valued member of the team. We always hoped his retirement wouldn’t be permanent, and I’m thrilled that our negotiations were successful.”

Movement over the cameraman’s shoulder catches Jude’s attention and he focuses in time to see Zero stalking determinedly in their direction, with reporters and cameras trailing after him like ducklings.

Sure enough, Zero shoulders into Jude’s personal space and the frame and smiles brightly at the cameras now surrounding them. Noah falters for a split second but he recovers when Zero turns the power of his publicity-smile on him. “Zero! That was a great game, and welcome back! What a surprise comeback for your fans!”

“Thank you,” Zero says graciously. “It’s great to be back. Management has built a great team this year, and I’m thrilled be a part of it.”

“How does it feel, coming back to the Devils without Coach Davenport at the helm?”

“In a lot of ways Pete was the anchor of the Devils organization, and losing him was a huge blow. German has very large shoes to fill, but I think he’s doing a great job.”

Zero and Jude take turns answering questions for a few minutes while Noah asks increasingly probing questions, with some of the surrounding reporters chiming in with their own. “Zero, how do you think it’s going to be, working with your boss who is also your ex?” Noah finally asks.

Zero tenses for a second and then relaxes, which in turn forces Jude to suppress the urge to facepalm. Noah’s poked a sleeping bear now and is just going to have to live with the consequences. “Whatever our relationship status is now, we were friends before we started a romantic relationship and that hasn’t changed.” Neutral and still technically true, and he didn’t bring up the disaster of his relationship with Jelena. It’s a Christmas miracle.

“Thank you for your time and congratulations again. Is there anything else you’d like to say to the fans at home?”

Jude can tell that Zero has come to a decision, and he’s not sure he wants to know what it is. “Yeah, actually, there was one more thing,” Zero says, and then he turns to Jude and, in a parallel of their first public kiss, wraps his left hand around the side of Jude’s neck and tugs him into a long, chaste kiss. Jude can’t not respond and lets his hands drift up Zero’s body until he’s got Zero’s head cradled between them.

Their surroundings become so much background noise, which is par for the course when Zero kisses Jude. If the arena descends into stunned silence or complete and utter chaos, Jude is totally oblivious to it.

When they finally separate, Jude and Zero share a soft, private smile before turning to face the music.

But no one’s there. No cameras, no reporters, no microphones, nothing. Just Lionel standing several feet away with her arms crossed, glaring at them and tapping her foot impatiently. 

“Huh,” Zero says while Jude blinks at the empty space around them. Zero starts to chuckle. It’s quickly infectious and Jude joins in on the laughter.

It’s a testament to how far they’ve come, and how done the press is with the telenovela that their lives have become, that another public gay kiss in their workplace, in front of a dozen broadcasting video-cameras, is a total non-issue. Even taking their breakup into account, Jude would have thought a public reunion would have made the gossip-hounds even more rabid.

The closest cameraman glances over at them and visibly rolls his eyes, which causes Zero to crack up all over again.

“You’d better go get changed before they recover,” Jude says. “Come up to my office when you’re done,” he adds quietly, “we can finally defile Oscar’s and Jelena’s desk.”

Zero’s eyes light up and he seems to approve of that idea (if the sizzling, open-mouthed kiss he lays on Jude is anything to judge by). “See you in a bit,” he murmurs after he pulls away, smug when Jude blinks dazedly, and then he slaps Jude’s ass and heads for the locker room.

Leaving Jude alone to face Lionel’s wrath. He may not have thought this through…

Lionel paces closer and opens her mouth to let him have it with both barrels. “Not here,” he preempts her, “let’s go up to my office.”

She glances around at their audience and nods in agreement. They make their escape from the court and retreat to Jude’s office.

“Start talking,” Lionel orders.

So Jude explains. He leaves a few unnecessary details out but tells her enough to fill in the blanks.

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?’ Lionel asks, looking a little distraught.

“Because  _ I _ had to believe it if I wanted to have any hope of making Jelena and Oscar believe it. If either of them thought for even half a second that it wasn’t 100% real, our whole plan would have been finished before it started.” She still looks upset, although he’s starting to think that it’s because he would willingly do that to himself and not because he didn’t confide in her about the plan. “Lionel, Zero and I both play the long game. We don’t leave it at Plans A and B; we do Plans A through Z and a little suffering in the short term is perfectly acceptable if it means getting closer to the end goal.”

“What about Noah?”

“Noah is… complicated. It started because I was lonely and horny and tired of missing Zero, but I was learning to love him. And it ended two nights ago when he looked me in the eyes and told me that I was perfect, but not perfect for him, and that he would never love me. And that was when I started to ask myself why I was being such a chickenshit and not asking Zero to come home even though it was past time for the next phase of the plan.”

Zero cracks open the office door and peers in, smiling when he spots Jude and Lionel sitting and talking. He enters, closes the door behind him, and moves to perch on the right arm of the couch beside Jude while draping his left arm across Jude’s shoulders. Jude shifts a little closer to accommodate Zero’s reach and reaches up to lace their fingers together while his other hand rests on Zero’s thigh.

“Lionel.” Zero greets with a smirk. He’s looking particularly delicious in dark-wash jeans that lovingly hug his lean hips and strong thighs, and a lilac button-down shirt (that may or may not have originally been Jude’s) that’s open at that collar to expose his throat and collarbones. Jude really wants to spread him across the desk and lick him all over.

Lionel observes them, noting their body language; she sees how Jude, who has been wound up so tight his shoulders and back had become one big knot, is loose and relaxed - he’s happy, comfortable and secure in Zero’s regard; the heart-eyes and private smiles and silent conversations as they glance at each other; how the tight lines that have been appearing around Jude’s eyes ever since the breakup have all but vanished. It’s then that she realizes that the light is glinting oddly off their joined hands. She peers a little closer to get a better look… “What. Is. That.”

Lionel kind of wants to smack them both when they give her matching, guileless looks in return. “What’s what?” Zero finally asks innocently.

She growls under her breath and lunges across the couch to grab hold of their joined hands. “Those! What are those?” she demands, pointing at the matching bands adorning their ring fingers.

Jude kind of huffs and twists around to look back at Zero, who slides down to squeeze himself onto the sofa between the arm and Jude. They have another unspoken conversation using only their eyebrows and facial expressions, and then Jude turns back to face her and leans his weight back into Zero’s solid bulk. “Seriously, Lionel,” Zero says mockingly, “you’ve been married how many times and you still don’t know what wedding rings look like?”

For a second Lionel blinks at them, uncomprehending. “I’m sorry, what?”

“We made a tiny detour on our way home this morning,” Jude offers. “No Elvis-..”

“This time. Personally I’m holding out for Xena next time,” Zero interjects thoughtfully, which earns him a scoff and a pinch.

“But we decided we were tired of waiting for it to be the right time,” Jude finishes.

Lionel is still looking at them like they’ve finally managed to break her brain. Jude is reminded of some of the reactions caught on camera during The Kiss. “Right,” she says slowly. 

Zero knocks his knee into Jude’s and, when Jude turn to look at him, winks and leers at the desk. Jude remembers his earlier promise of fun times to be had on that desk and peers up at Zero through his lashes while he bites his lower lip. Jude has a front-row seat to watching as Zero’s pupils expand until there’s just a tiny ring of blue visible. Zero brings his left hand up and wraps it around the back of Jude’s neck and starts to lean in.

Lionel gags loudly and rises to her feet in a hurry. “Okay, okay, I’m going! Just keep the clothes on until I’m out the door, all right?”

Zero ignores her theatrics and captures Jude’s lips with his own. Jude leans into the kiss with a moan, shifting around until he’s facing Zero and can get his hands on his husband’s body.

The thought has Jude pulling back with a gasp of air. “Holy shit, we’re married.”

Zero grins and chuckles indulgently. “It’s a bit late to change your mind, you know.” He takes advantage of Jude’s distraction and starts to unbutton his husband’s shirt after loosening the tie.

Jude stands, grips Zero’s open collar in his hands and uses it to drag Zero over to the desk, where he shoves his husband backwards until Zero’s lying flat on his back across the desktop. Zero chuckles again while Jude tackles his belt and efficiently strips him naked. “What happened to my innocent virgin?”

Jude smirks back at him, “I’d say that you corrupted him pretty thoroughly.”

Zero sits up and captures Jude’s face between his hands, taking moment to just look into his husband’s eyes. “I love you, stupid.”

“I know.”

Zero barks out a sharp “Ha!” and pulls Jude back in to kiss him slowly and thoroughly. Desire simmers in Zero’s belly and he lets go of Jude’s face to unbutton his shirt, pushing it off Jude’s shoulders once it’s unfastened. Jude’s arms get trapped in the shirt and Zero pulls back long enough to yank Jude’s tie over his head.

Zero gets off the desk and reverses their positions, pushing Jude face-down onto the desk. Zero wraps the tie around Jude’s wrists behind his back and knots it tightly. “Oh,” Jude breathes.

They’ve only played around with mild bondage-type games before, mostly of the “leave your hands where I just put them or I’ll stop” variety. “Okay?” Zero checks.

Jude tests the knot; it’s tight, but isn’t cutting off his circulation and isn’t impossible to escape from. “Yeah, keep going.” His voice sounds like he’s been eating glass and he’s so turned on right now he’s finding it hard to breathe.

Zero grinds his hips into Jude’s ass while he reaches around to unbuckle Jude’s belt and then unfasten his slacks. Zero lowers Jude’s pants and underwear to the floor and plants an open-mouthed kiss on the small of Jude’s back, loving the way Jude moans his name.

Zero detours briefly to press a tender kiss to the ring he’d placed on Jude’s finger only a few hours ago, and another one to the palm of Jude’s hand. Jude clenches the hand into a fist as if he’s trying to hold on to the kiss.

Zero palms Jude’s ass, stroking and massaging the firm, toned cheeks, and presses sucking kisses to Jude’s back through the fabric of his shirt. He presses his thumbs into the cleft of Jude’s ass, smoothing them down the sensitive skin as Jude hisses and tenses. Jude’s arms jerked in their confinement and he moans again.

“Yeah,” Zero murmurs, “you like that, don’t you?”

If Jude was any less wound up he would have scoffed at the cliched line, but he’s so turned on that it barely even registers. He pulls on the tie again, just to relish in the feeling of being held down. One of Zero’s hands disappears from his skin and smacks down sharply on the fleshiest part of his asscheek. Jude cries out and jumps with surprise but can’t keep from arching his back for more.

Zero repeats the slap again and again, alternating sides, until Jude is panting and close to sobbing. “Jude, you’re doing so good, you’re so good for me.” Zero smooths his hands up Jude’s flanks, trying to help him calm down a bit.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, Gideon,” Jude pants.

“What do you want, Jude?” Zero slides his hands up Jude’s front and finds his nipples; he pets and firmly tweaks them until Jude is squirming under him.

“Giiid-eon,” Jude keens.

“Come on, Jude, what do you want me to do?” Zero thrusts his cock between Jude’s asscheeks, breath catching when the tip brushes over Jude’s hole.

“Gideon, if you even think about stopping, I’ll fucking kill you.”

Zero chortles - that’s more like it. He leaves Jude, bent over and exposed to the air, to walk around the desk and root around in one of the drawers, gleeful when he comes up with a mostly full bottle of lube. He comes back around the desk and generously slicks his fingers. “Not even going to stretch you out, just going to get you wet enough to slide right in.”

To be fair, Jude is still a little loose from their escapades on the jet this morning, but he can’t stifle his moan at the thought. Zero quickly spreads the lubricant over Jude’s hole, and slicks even more on his cock. They rarely bareback, mostly due to a lack of desire to deal with the resultant mess, but the thought of marking up Jude’s office like this is too hot to resist.

Zero positions his cock at Jude’s entrance and doesn’t move. “Ready?”

Jude peers over his shoulder to give Zero a filthy glare. “I swear to god, if you don’t stick it in me right now-…” 

“Wow, what a romantic I married.” Zero grins and presses inward, leaning forward to plan his hands on the desk beside Jude’s head. Jude moans around the obscene stretch and releases a shuddering sigh when Zero finally bottoms out inside him.

Zero gives Jude a few moments to adjust and then starts to thrust, spine and hips flexing. Jude flattens his captive palms against Zero’s abs, the only part of Zero he can reach, while Zero buries his face in Jude’s nape, sucking bruises into whatever skin he can reach.

“God, you feel so good, Jude,” Zero growls in his ear. “Always so goddamned tight, even tighter than a girl. One day, I’m going to bend you over this desk and eat you out until you cry and beg me to fuck you. How does that sound? What if I rode you on that chair for ages, keeping you on the edge but never letting you come?” Jude’s completely boxed in and at Zero’s mercy, and he fucking  _ loves _ it. This position means Zero can’t thrust very hard or fast, but Jude doesn’t care because his cock is rubbing across Jude’s prostate with almost every thrust, and Jude is almost mindless with the combined stimulation. “You think you’d like that, hubby?” 

“Is that all you got, Wifey?” The taunt is more breathless than Jude intends, but it has the effect he wants: Zero rears back and starts moving faster and harder, every thrust rocking Jude farther across the desk. “My hands, my hands, Gideon, please.”

Zero roughly removes the knotted tie and tosses it off to the side, Jude’s shirt quickly follows. Zero wraps one arm around Jude’s torso and hauls him upright so Zero is thrusting into him at a different angle. Jude cries out at the sensation and when Zero swats his hand away from his bouncing cock, savoring the way that his balls are drawing up tight to his body in anticipation of the coming climax.

“Are you close? Do you think you can come for me without a hand on you?” Zero pants into the side of Jude’s neck.

Jude arches his back and brings his free hand up to cup the back of Zero’s head. “So, so close. Come on, Gideon. Come for me.”

One, two, three more thrusts, then Zero’s grip tightens on Jude’s hips and he groans as he comes, slumping against Jude who leans against the desk.. His cock flexes hard inside Jude and it’s just enough to push Jude over the cliff as well. Thick ropes of come spurt through his fingers and spread across the surface of the desk as his vision momentarily whites out. Jude knows that he’ll never be able to look at his desk again without remembering this.

“You okay?” Zero rumbles, still holding Jude close. He’s moved his hands from Jude’s hips and has wrapped his arms around Jude’s torso instead, and is absently pressing kisses into Jude’s nape while they savor the afterglow. Later, Jude will bitch Zero out for a good ten minutes over the necklace of hickies his darling husband left all over his neck and collarbones, but for now he is perfectly content.

Jude covers Zero’s hands with his own and doesn’t try to stifle his euphoric laugh. “I’m perfect.” Jude tilts his head against his husband’s and decides that he needs to be able to hold Zero too; he gently pushes Zero back until his softening cock slips out with a rush of rapidly cooling liquid, then turns around and wraps himself around Zero. “I love you,” he murmurs.

“I love you, too, Jude.”

As much as Jude is enjoying the quiet moment of intimacy, he’s quickly getting grossed out and really wants to clean up. Zero laughs when he says as much, but diligently helps Jude clean off the excess lube and come from his ass (if that also happens to give Zero the opportunity to check to make sure Jude wasn’t torn or otherwise injured, so much the better). They find their clothes and re-dress, and then put their efforts to wiping up the come spilled over the desk and floor.

By the time they’re ready to go, Zero is yawning and Jude is close to it. It’s been a long, exciting day, and all they want to do is go back to Jude’s apartment and curl up in their bed to sleep for a year. They’ve been closed up in Jude’s office for long enough that the lights have been turned off for the night and the arena is devoid of other people.

Despite his usual distaste for PDAs, Zero is the one to reach out and lace their hands together when they leave Jude’s office. For some reason, it’s only then that it hits Zero and he looks at their wedding bands with amazement.

“Holy shit, we’re actually married.”

Jude laughs the whole way to the parking lot.

(It will take a week for the news of their elopement to leak. Jude will win their bet by 3 days and will decide that his prize is going to be taking Zero up on his offer of office chair sex.)

(Lionel will almost walk in on them while Zero pays off his debt.)

(They’ll both agree that it was worth it.)

 

_ FINE _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: During the sex scene in Chapter 2, Zero ties Jude's hands without warning or obtaining prior consent. It's stated that they have played around with light bondage in the past, and Zero does check with Jude immediately afterwards, and it's implied that Jude could escape at any time (if he really wanted to).
> 
> (For the record, I have a sneaking suspicion that La Rosa intended Zero's leaving to have been a result of rampant insecurity and anxiety, largely due to a lack of support systems other than Jude. He wouldn't necessarily talk to Jude about his fears of hurting Jude, as seen when Zero tried to protect Jude from his anger at his foster parents, and he didn't have anyone else to talk to - so whatever toxic thoughts were running through his brain had no opposition. Jude's not dumb, he would have seen Zero pulling away and would have done his best to pull Zero back in, but Zero's own self-loathing at seeing how he's hurting Jude would have him pulling even farther away. Jude proposes to try to show his commitment and Zero, who has been alone with his thoughts all this time, just panicked and ran. By the time he came back to his senses, he probably though it was too late and that Jude is far better off without him. (We know that's not true, but I'm pretty sure we also know that anxiety isn't that logical.) Just my $0.02.)


End file.
